When Love Comes Close
by touched-but-unbroken
Summary: This story is a romance tragedy, written from the POV of Ron. He's going through a rough spot, but can love pull him through? Only time will tell. Read on to find out how Ron reacts When Love Comes Close..........
1. Prologue

When Love Comes Close  
by Masterplan

Harry: She put a spell on him  
She had his heart in her hand  
And when she squeezed a litte bit too hard  
She tore the boy to pieces

Ron: Looked into the mirror I was hypnotized  
There was a different man  
Staring back into my eyes  
Went to the doctor but he could not see  
Only the love of a woman would be medicine for me

Ginny: He went for miles in the pouring rain  
Losing her wasn't part of the game  
So he took the time to look around and see  
Cause there had to be a future that was meant to be.

Hermione: Love can take you to the sky  
Love may leave you in a haze to die  
And you will always know it's true  
When love comes close to you

Fred: He gave away everything he had  
Spent all his money, he got thirsty and mad  
No life for losers when the winner steals the price  
In the heartbeat of the city  
He was forced to roll the dice

Neville: Love may blind you with its cry  
Love can haunt you 'til the day you die   
Be yourself and don't pretend  
Broken hearts can always mend

All: Love can take you to the sky  
Love may leave you in a haze to die  
You will always know it's true  
When love comes close to you

A/N: Please R&R, I want to know what you think!


	2. I am Ron Weasley

Chapter 1 – I am Ron Weasley

I am on the Hogwarts Express. It is the last time I will ever ride it. This is my last journey home from Hogwarts. I won't go back next year or the year after that. I am a fully trained wizard, and now I must work for the Order.

Harry is in a strange mood. He is not talking. He is just sitting there, staring out the window. I don't think he wants to leave. Hogwarts saved him. If it weren't for Hogwarts, Harry would have to stay at the Dursley's all the time, and he would be stuck at some weird Muggle school.

Sitting here, now, I remember meeting Harry for the first time. On this train. Possibly in this same carriage. I don't know; I don't remember things like that. I remember it clearly. As if it were yesterday.

Uh-oh, here comes Hermione! Hasn't she changed since our first year? So much prettier. And . . . this is gonna sound strange, but now when she tells me what to do, I get a weird kind of thrill. She makes me feel so . . . right. She makes me want to stand up and shout:

"I am Ron Weasley!"

Because that's who I am. Except I didn't see that before I knew her. All I thought was that I was some bloke who nobody liked and who was recognised only by his untidy mop of red hair. But now I know who I am. I am Ron Weasley.

"Hermione? Hermione!" I call anxiously. She is crying. I do not know why. I hug her close. I cradle her in my arms. That feels good. It feels so good. To belong to her, to be part of her, to hold her.

"Why are you crying, Hermione?" it was Harry who spoke that time. The question is echoing round my head.

_Why are you crying, Hermione? Why are you crying?_

Damn, I should have asked that question first!

"Yeah, Hermione, you should be happy!" I add. God, I sound so stupid!

"It- it's just . . . I love you!"

Oh my God. Oh. My. God. Hermione Granger just confessed her love to me! That feels so good! That feels sooo good!

"I love you t-" I began.

"I love you all! Everyone, all my friends! Harry, Ron, you were my first ever friends. Then there's all my other friends, and everyone who has made me who I am!" Hermione continued.

Oh. That kind of love. As in; I love you as a friend. Harry is grinning at me. Why is Harry grinning at me? God he's getting aggravating now! Ooh, wait. Harry's speaking!

"You were saying something, Ron?"

Huh? What is he on about? I wasn't saying anything! Oh. Ah. I geddit. I began to tell Hermione that I loved her too. Ah. Oh God, now I'm blushing! Why me?

"Um, yeah. I was just saying that I love you guys to; in a friend kinda way, I mean!"

Oh no, now I'm blushing even harder! Arrgh, so unfair! Why was I born a redhead?

Oh crap. I'm stroking Hermione's hair! I can't help it, I'm just doing it! Oh no, please make it stop! Arrgh, I'm still stroking her! Why can't I- ah, that's better. I've stopped. Whoa, that was a scary moment. For God's sake Harry, stop grinning at me! Oh, wait. He can't hear my thoughts, can he? Oh damn. Oh well, I can't be bothered to go to all the effort to open my mouth and speak. Ooh, the lunch trolley! Now _that's_ something worth speaking for!

"Oh, crap, I don't have any money!" whoops, I shouldn't have said that! Now Harry will insist on buying m something. I hate it when he does that. It's so embarrassing. And it makes me feel really embarrassed. It's so unfair! How come he gets all the money? How come he gets all the attention? How come he gets- oh my God I hate myself. I am the worst friend ever. I have a family. I have a home. Harry lost his parents. He lost Sirius. Bloody hell now I'm choking! Mustn't cry, mustn't cry. Oh God I'm crying!

"Are you all right, Ron?" that was Harry. Oh no, now Hermione's looking at me!

"Sorry, Ron. Is my crying infectious?" now I'm chuckling. Chuckling! Since when did a Weasley chuckle?

"Yeah, it is, Mione. I'm not crying for the same reason as you though." What happened to a witty reply?

"So . . . what's up, then?" aww, Hermione's so sweet and caring. Should I tell her? About Sirius, I mean. Better not; I might upset Harry. No, wait, Harry's busy buying stuff from the lunch trolley.

"I was just thinking about . . . Sirius."

Oh. My. God. She's touching me! She's wiping my tears away! How sensitive. I love her. But . . . somehow it wouldn't seem right to ask her out. It wouldn't seem right to date. I've been friends with her for seven years now, and I don't want to ruin our friendship by asking her out. It's too much to risk. Yeah, we've had our ups and downs. But doesn't everyone? Ooh, Bertie Botts. I love those! Well, the nice ones!

"Ron, I dare you to eat that bogie green one!" Hermione giggled in my ear. All right. Anything for my girl! I _wish_ she were my girl!

"OK then!" I'm picking it up now. It really is a rather . . . ahem, strange colour. But Hermione dared me, and I'll do anything for her! It's getting nearer and nearer my mouth. The other two are watching me with interest. OK, it's in my mouth. It's in my mouth, and it tastes of . . .

"Melon!" I happily tell the others. "OK, your turn, Mione!"

"Oh, give me a nice one, please Ron!"

"OK, fine. How about that chocolate one there?" I point out.

"That'll do!"

She's picking it up. It's getting nearer her mouth. Her lips part slightly. Her lips. I never noticed her lips before. They're perfect! And they look highly kissable! It's going in!

"Eurggh, coffee!" she's saying spitting it out. "OK Harry, your turn!"

"I think you should it that yellow one, Harry!" great suggestion from yours truly. It looks like it might be . . . something rather disgusting.

"Let's give him a count down, Ron! 3, 2, 1- eat!"

Harry just put it in his mouth. He's raising his eyebrows. OK, now his eyebrows are really high. Now he's coughing. Wow, I wonder what it is . . .

"Chilli!"

Ha! He got chilli! Woah, he's kinda going red! Uh-oh. Who's that at the door?


	3. Stupefy

Chapter 2 – Stupefy

Malfoy. Draco Malfoy.

"I see dirty blood traitor Weasley has finally paired off with filthy mud blood Granger! It was only a matter of time." He said. The git. I can feel my blood pressure rising. Uh- here I go!

"Go to hell, Malfoy! One of these days I'm gonna pull your head out of your ass!" WOW. I finally said it.

"Mind your language, Weasley. I'm a prefect for two more minutes!"

Ooh now Hermione's jumping up. "So are we!"

"Careful, Granger. If you carry on like this, you'll end up like Lily Potter, and look where she is now!"

"You leave my mum out of this!" that was Harry.

Now we're all standing up, pointing our wands at him. I can see the apprehension dawning on his face. He's out numbered. He's slowly retreating. Oh, heck. It's the last day. I'll let him go. Bloody hell, I can't believe I just thought that! Maybe it's the melon talking, but I really do feel sorry for him. Gulp. I think I need to go lie down. But he looks so terrified. I want to let him get away. Just once.

"Stupefy!"

Ah. Seems like Harry has other ideas.

I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of him right now. He's taking in big, ragged breaths, and his face is all screwed up. That's what always happens when Harry gets mad.

Hermione has her arm around Hermione's shoulder now.

"Come on Harry! This is our last ride on the Hogwarts Express! Don't spend the rest of it in a bad mood!" she's telling him. I'll join in.

"Hermione's right, Harry. You should be happy, not sad! Come on, let's have some fun!"

"OK, let's have fun." Harry said, "but let me get one thing straight first. I've got to spend two weeks with the Dursley's; promise me you'll send owls!"

"Oh we will Harry!" ah, Hermione. When she says something like that, you know she means it!

"And remember Harry; you can use magic now, so don't let them boss you around!"

Oh good. Harry's grinning now. Hmm, I'll see if I can make him grin even more!

"Yeah, Harry! See, it won't be that bad! And you can apparate all over the place and scare Dudley!"

Yup. I am the master. He is gonna crack his face if his grin gets any wider.

"Yeah, thanks guys! Poor little Dudders! This is gonna be more fun then I thought! By the way, am I going to the Burrow or Grimmauld Place?"

"The Burrow; we'll spend the summer there, then go to Grimmauld Place with the rest of the Order once the summer is over."

Sometimes I think that I am so intelligent surely my head will burst with the strain of holding my brain.

"OK, thanks Ron. Now, who wants to help me plan Dudders' attacks?"

Sounds like fun!

* * *

_Tricks to play on Dudley Dursley,_

_List compiled by Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger:_

_Feed him a jaw-lock toffee from Fred and George's joke shop. It will glue his mouth together so that he can't eat._

_Levitate his food around the room with Wingardium Leviosa._

_Get his PlayStation to chase him round the garden._

_Stand in front of him and tease him. When he runs at you, apparate behind him._

_Transfigure his hair into grass and see how long it takes for someone to notice._

_Use invisibility cloak to spy on Dudders and to get extra food._

_Get Hermione and the Weasley's ideas by owl post._

_Torment Dudley, petunia and Vernon as much as possible!_

* * *

The train is slowing down. I can see people from our year in the other carriages. They are all hugging. Some are crying. Hermione's crying. Harry's crying too. Oh bloody hell. So am I! I'm hugging Hermione now. Damn that feels good! I don't want to let her go! Oh, well, I have to now. She's turning to Harry now. She's hugging him. I may just be imagining things, but I swear that when I hugged her it lasted longer. Maybe Harry's just a rotten hugger. I don't know; I've never hugged him. Ouch! He just whacked me on the back! Right, he's going to pay for this. Oh my God, I whacked him so hard he fell over! He's OK, though, he's laughing about it. We're getting our trunks down now. We're going out the door- whoops I just tripped over. Wait a sec, I just tripped over Malfoy! Hermione's frowning. Her lips are so perfect! She's opening them. Now she's closed them. OK, she's opening them again. She's speaking-

"You might want to deal with Malfoy, Harry!"

Harry's pointing his wand carelessly over his shoulder.

"Enervate!"

Malfoy's stirring now. Bloody hell, he looks like Death himself! OK, I'm rushing to the door now. I want to get out before Malfoy comes to his senses and runs after us to kill us!

We're on the platform now. Going through the gate. There's mum! Oh my God does she really have to wave like that?

"How are you all?" she's asking. I can't be bothered to answer. I'll grunt instead.

"Fine, thanks, Mrs. Weasley!" that was Hermione. She's always sucked up to my mum.

"And how are you Harry?" she's eyeing Harry critically. "Remember, as soon as you turn 17, apparate to the Burrow. We'll have a big birthday celebration for you! Then you'll spend the summer at the Burrow, with us, and then when the holidays have finished you can start work in the Order, if you wish to." "Thank you, Mrs. Weasley, you are so kind!" Harry's spotted the Dursley's and is walking towards them now. He's turning around. Waving. Shouting his last good-byes. I'm waving back. So is Hermione, and Ginny, now. Goodbye, Harry. See you in a few weeks!


	4. How sweet revenge is

_Author notes: Sorry I haven't updated for ages! This chapter will be written from the POV of Harry, but it will be in the third person. The RW/HG romance starts in the next chapter, so if you can't wait for it, you can skip this chapter; there is nothing EXTREMELY important. However, if you do skip this chapter, there are some things that I will refer to in future chapters that you_ will not understand_! So I urge you to read this chapter! And review it! I only have a few reviews for this story at the moment, and you don't know how much it means to me to see 'FF Review Alert' pop into my inbox! So get reading and reviewing_

* * *

Chapter 3 – How sweet revenge is.

Even though Harry had despised Privet Drive all his life, he had a funny feeling that _this _time round, it would be a little more enjoyable. He was no longer underage, and so, for the first time at the Dursleys, _he could perform magic_. He grinned just thinking about it.

"What are you grinning at, boy?" his uncle asked angrily from the driver's seat. Normally, Harry would have ignored his uncle, but this time… this time was different.

"Oh, not much," he said calmly, "just thinking about what great _fun _I will have now that I can do magic."

His uncle sneered. "Pull the other one!" he said, rolling his eyes. "You can't do magic out of school and _you and I know it_. You don't want that freak school to _expel _you now, do you?"

"It may have come to your attention, uncle, that I've finished my time at Hogwarts. I'm not a student anymore; I'm a fully trained wizard, and I can use magic any time I wish." Harry smirked, milking the look on his cousin's face for all it was worth. His uncle's reaction, however, differed slightly.

"Right then." He said, stopping the car. "Get out! You no longer have reason to keep your ungrateful ass in my home!" Harry remained seated, and if Petunia hadn't intervened at the moment, things could've got ugly.

"Vernon, dear. Harry stays with us. He's staying until his birthday, and no arguing!" she said, then added, "and that means _both _of you!" she turned round to glare at her son, who whimpered and nodded. Harry was overcome with wonder at how quickly his aunt had stepped to his aid, and was very grateful. Vernon growled, and droved off once more, temple throbbing. Harry was feeling quite contented with himself. Smiling at Dudley (a rare event), he contemplated just how fun revenge was gonna be.

* * *

It was the morning after Harry's last day at school. He woke up at the Dursleys', and, for the first time ever there, he smiled. He got up and strolled down the stairs, as if he owned the place. The rest of the family were already downstairs, whispering. They stopped, however, when they saw Harry, and Dudley even went as far as to offer him a chair. On the opposite side of the table from him. Harry sat down and pulled his plate of bacon and eggs towards himself. Everyone watched him stuff himself in silence, which was then broken as soon as he had finished his last mouthful, by Pig, Ron's owl.

"Pig!" Harry exclaimed, jumping up to open the window.

"Well I never, a flying pig," Vernon muttered darkly, before adding to Harry, "how many times, boy? _Not in broad daylight_." Harry ignored him and proceeded to untie the letter and parcel from Pig's ankle, while feeding him bits of fat off Dudley's plate. He took it upstairs to read, after giving Pig a pat and a Knut.

* * *

_Hey Harry!_

He read in Fred's untidy scrawl.

_Hope Pig didn't get lost on the way. We heard you had a few pranks planned for Dudley, and we thought we could make things a little easier for you by providing you with some products (no need to pay; you know why). Inside attached parcel, you will find:_

_3x jaw-locking toffee (dur, what do you _think _these are for!)_

_2x luminous balloons (a distraction if you ever need to get away- fast. These worked on Snape, they'll work on your uncle!)_

_4x canary creams (but only if you _promise _to snap us some pictures!)_

_Give them hell from us!_

Harry smiled, and unwrapped the parcel. Everything stated in the letter was in there; plus a few treats from Honeydukes 'for his own enjoyment', as the letter went on to say. Harry stuffed a sugar quill in his mouth, and then hid the parcel and letter under the loose floorboard under his bed.

* * *

"Hey Dud-ley!" Harry called quietly. His cousin spun round, recognising the voice. But there was no one there. He scratched his head, puzzled. He was just hearing things, he decided, and turned back to the fridge.

"Dud-ley!" Harry called again, louder this time, so Dudley knew without doubt that the voice was there. His cousin spun round again, narrowing his eyes. But through the fierceness, Harry could see that he was scared.

For a moment, Harry felt a pang of guilt. Then he felt angry. Why should _he _feel guilty? This was his cousin Dudley. The one who hadn't hesitated one iota when it came to torturing Harry. With a grim determination, Harry resolved to set the score straight. He tiptoed quietly in an arc around Dudley, over to the fridge. Now Dudley's back was to him. He slammed the fridge door shut, and stifled his laughter as his cousin whirled round, sweat dripping down his pale. Again, Harry tiptoed around Dudley in an arc, this time walking over to the kitchen sink. He turned on the tap full blast. Dudley whimpered as the water sprayed up from the dirty bowls and plates resting in the sink, waiting to be washed. Harry had got the angle just right: now Dudley was dripping with dirty water. A smile of satisfaction spread slowly across his face as he walked out the room. His work there was done. Harry-1, Dursleys-0.

How sweet revenge is.

* * *

When he got home, Vernon was furious. He found his son kneeling on the floor, drenched in dirty water, and looking kind of frightened. He summoned Harry to his side immediately, knowing that it was his entire fault.

"Clean this up!" he barked, as soon as Harry appeared on the stairs.

"Ok!" he said brightly, surprising his uncle greatly. This surprise quickly turned to anger, however, as Harry pulled out his wand.

"Don't you point that bloody thing at me!" he shouted, going red in the face. "You're gonna clean this up with a bit of bloody elbow grease; I'll have no magic in _my _house!"

"No." Harry said. One word; short and simple. But it was enough to get the rage pumping round his uncle's body, and steam coming out of his ears.

"What did you say? _What did you say, boy?_"

"I said, no." Harry replied calmly, then turned his back on his uncle and started to walk away.

Turning his back was a bad idea.

From that moment, everything happened at once. Vernon launched himself at Harry, pulling him down to the ground. Almost straight away, Harry pulled out his wand and stuck it in his uncle's face. Harry's Aunt Petunia walked in and promptly fainted. Seeing his uncle's lapse in concentration, Harry fired a shot of Flipendo, but it missed and hit the fridge, which began to topple. Unfortunately for Dudley, at the time he was kneeling in front of it. Vernon leapt off Harry and only just in time managed to save his son from certain death. Meanwhile, Harry had recovered from Vernon's attack, and as his uncle started back towards him, arms outstretched, he aimed another Flipendo shot. It hit Vernon, with flawless accuracy, on the forehead, and he tumbled back for a soft landing on his son. The wind had been knocked out of both of them, and Harry grinned, turned, and ran. Harry-2, Durleys-0.

* * *

The next few weeks were great fun for Harry, considering all the tricks he played on his guardians. And he got a good few pictures of Dudley as a canary, too. But even though he had such fun getting his own back, he was still excited about going to the Burrow. He missed his friends. And he didn't doubt that he'd have a lot more fun with Ron and Hermione. However, he didn't consider the fact that Ron and Hermione had been having a lot of fun in his absence, too.

* * *

_Author Notes: hope you like! The next story I will be updating is 'Must Be Love…', and I'll be giving you the long awaited 12th chapter! God that sounds so good! Lol neways, hope you like, and please please leave your comments! Thanks!_


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